


Lifeguards on Duty (Barry and Iris' Story)

by Storylover0513



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lifeguards, Angst, Comedy, F/M, Fluff, Romance, teen life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 23:52:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11588739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storylover0513/pseuds/Storylover0513
Summary: Join characters from The Flash in an alternate reality where they're lifeguards!





	Lifeguards on Duty (Barry and Iris' Story)

All was peaceful until the banshee cried, "Iris!"

Of course Iris had to answer, when Linda wants something she's bound to get it. Linda came barging into her room two papers in hand. "What?" Iris asked annoyed still looking down at her phone. "What do you mean, what? Come look!" Linda said sitting on the bed next to her. "It's the lifeguard summer job applications, they came back!"

Iris takes her paper and reads it. She doesn't dare bother to read the long lecture, she skips to the bottom and sees she's been accepted. "Yes!" Iris exclaimed.  
"Did you get in?" Iris asks her best friend. "Yeah, I did!" They both squeal in excitement. They reread their acception papers once more to document the details. 

"We'd like you to come down to the newly opened waterpark today so we can prepare for the customers," they both read in unison. 

"Today?!" Iris shouts. "Oh god, Linda. I didn't even buy my suit, I totally forgot-" Iris starts to ramble.

"It's okay, Iris. Luckily, I prepared beforehand. I got us sunscreen and proper lifeguard outfits," Linda says calmly.

Iris' breathing calms with each intake. "We're actually doing this," Iris thought to herself. 

"Well, where are they bathing suits?" Iris asks looking around the room. 

"Oh, I'll get them, stay here." 

Minutes later, Linda returns bags in hand. There's a bikini set and a one-piece set. "The one-piece set is for you, figuring you don't like to show your body," Linda says cracking up.

"Hey!" Iris says smacking Linda on the arm. 

"What are you waiting for, go try yours on!" Linda says pushing Iris towards the bathroom. 

Iris takes the suit and walks towards the bathroom. She looks at the bathing suit then at herself and starts putting it on. The suit is snug around her curves, her behind barely showing. Her back is exposed though, but Iris doesn't mind. She thinks she looks like a goddess.

She walks out the bathroom twirling for Linda to see every feature, "Ta-da!" 

"Oh my god, Iris. You look cute!"

"Cute?"

"I mean, sexy."

Iris rolls her eyes and tells Linda to try her bathing suit on. Linda comes out minutes later. Linda's bathing suit is kind of loose but no so loose that it'll fall off. Her cleavage is represented well in the outfit and the bottom is snug against the material.

"All the boys are going to be chasing after you," Iris teases.

"That might not be as bad," Linda says winking.

They laugh. They put on clothes over their suits and take necessary items. They reach the water-park and walk in, hoping to find their co-workers. Everyone is by the pool and some guy is shouting out orders.

They walk towards the scene and Iris can make out each and every person by the pool. First, she sees Cisco and she gets excited to be able to talk to him again. Then she makes out Patty and her whole body shivers. She sees the regulars like Caitlin and Jesse, she can make out Eddie, and then Barry. Her heart flutters. She's had a crush on Barry since 3rd grade. Every now and then at school they'd exchange glances, Barry would smile and Iris would look away feeling way too embarrassed.

"Ahh, Linda, Iris! So glad you could make it. You guys took forever, we're just getting to know each other better, come on," Harrison said.

They walk over, everyone's eyes glued on them. Barry's on Iris. 

"Okay, Iris, how 'bout you introduce yourself first?" Harrison asks.

"Oh, well..uhm..my name is Iris West and I-" Iris starts.

"Everyone knows who you are, no need to explain," Patty says in that bitchy voice of hers. 

"Oh..well, okay," Iris says shrinking into the crowd of people. 

"I'm guessing you all know each other?" Harrison asks.

Everyone nods, someone pointing out that they go to the same school.

"Well, in that case, that means we can get started with the training. First, we'll test speed."

Iris and Linda walk over to some seats and set their things down, taking off their clothing. "That Patty girl is such a dick to you," Linda says anger in her voice. "I swear I'll land a fist or two on her before the day ends."

"It's okay, Patty. She's always been like that, I wouldn't give her the time of day if I were you." They apply their sunscreen in silence. Barry walks right past them to meet up with Harrison. To Iris' advantage she gets to see his well toned body. 

"He runs track Iris, of course he has abs. Are you going to go after him?"

"What?! No? Geez, Linda."

Linda scans the area, "There aren't any cute boys around here but him and Eddie. Maybe I'll go after him!" Linda says teasing.

"What!? No, you can't! He's mine!" Iris says a little too loudly.

"See, you got yourself a crush, go after him girl, I'm not stopping you."

Harrison calls them over and they walk back to the group of teens. "What I'm going to do is time how long it takes you to swim from one side of the pool to the other, freestyle swim," Harrison says getting his timer out of his pocket, "Eddie you're up."

Eddie heads over to the edge of the pool. "3, 2, 1, go!" Harrison yells. Eddie dives in and just starts swimming. His time is 3:12:75. "Not so bad, Eddie, work on your breathing."

Eddie flashes a wink at Iris, she shudders from disgust. "Okay, Patty, you're next." She struts her way to the end of the pool and waits for Harrison's command.

"Go!"

Patty dives in and starts swimming as well. She gets there faster because her kicks are swift and strong. Her time is 3:09.21. 

She shakes her hair in a sense of attention but nobody notices. They're all worried about who's going next. 

"Okay, Cisco, you're turn." "Go!" Cisco gets there in exactly 3 minutes. Jessie, 3:06.71. Caitlin, 2:25.89. Linda, 2:45.60.

"Iris, you're next, then Barry. Let's speed this up actually, you two can go at the same time. I need someone to time Barry with their phone." Patty volunteers. 

Iris looks over at Barry and he catches him watching her. She smiles lightly and they walk over to the edge of the pool. "Go!" says Harrison and they're off.

They both start of with a dolphin kick and start swimming. Barry makes it there first and Iris is right behind him. Harrison and Patty both call time.

Barry's time was, 1:58.06, Iris, 1:59.52. They both climb out of the pool dripping wet. "Nice dolphin kick, maybe I should learn from you," Barry says catching Iris' attention.

"Yeah, thanks. You know it's just..yeah," Iris says stuttering. Barry chuckles. They walk back over to the group Patty glaring at Iris. 

They finish their testing. Harrison allows them to dry off before he locks up the waterpark. Iris walks over to the ladies bathroom so she can blowdry her hair. A familiar figure appears in the mirror. Patty. "What do you want, Patty?" "What do I want, you mean what you don't need. I see you talking to Barry, he's mine. So stay away from him, slut." "Slut!? Huh, me, a slut. I'd shut that little mouth of yours if I were you." "And I'd watch your tone, Iris." That's when Linda walks in. "Back the hell away from my friend," Linda says. "Whatever, I was just leaving." 

Linda looks at Iris in concern, "She didn't hurt you right?"  
"No."  
"Good, I really want to punch that whore."  
"It's fine. She'll get what's coming to her."  
"Harrison is about to close up so hurry up."  
Iris nods her head and finishes up with her hair. She gathers up her things and walks over to the exit. She's stopped by Barry, who tapped on her shoulder. "You're Iris, right?"  
"Yeah..?" Iris says in a suggestive tone.  
"Would you maybe like to get coffee or something?" Barry says rubbing the back of his neck.  
"Oh, um..sure! When do you think is the best time?"  
"Um..maybe tomorrow after close up we could you know..go to CC Jitters?"  
"Um, yeah! I should go, I think my friend's waiting up on me," Iris says pointing to the car waiting at the curb.  
"Wait, Iris! Phone number?"  
"Oh, sure," Iris says smiling awkwardly. He hands her his phone and she types in her number.  
"Bye, Iris."  
"Bye, Barry."

Iris walks over to the car, a huge smile on her face. She looks behind and she can Barrry doing some kind of celebratory dance, she giggles on her way back to the car. "So, what happened, spill the details."  
"Well..he asked me out on a lunch date. Nothing serious, probably as friends."  
"But he asked for your number."  
"Yeah, he did."  
"Girl, you're in for the ride of your life."  
"Yeah," she sighs, "I am."

Linda drops Iris off at her house and she drives off. Once she opens the door her little brother runs at her almost tackling her to the ground. "Iris! Iris! You're back! Did you save people?!"

Iris picks her brother up with ease and walks them over to the living room, "I didn't save anybody yet, bud. Wanna watch a movie?"  
Wally nods his head yes, "I wanna watch Wall-E!"  
"Wall-E it is." 

 

The Next Day

 

This time, Iris drives herself to work, on her commune there she thinks about what Patty said and her lunch date with Barry. Harrison had told her to be here by 11:15 to help set up the park for the visitors. She's a bit early because her mother had set her alarm clock way too early. She hopes Barry is there so they can talk, alone. Iris fantasizes about Barry taking her to the locker room, pushing her against a locker and kissing her. She imagines his hands sliding down to her area. Him whispering little sweet nothingness and the feel of his body on hers. She snaps out of it when Cisco approaches her. 

"Hey, Iris!"  
"Oh! Hey, Cisco, how are you?"  
"Surprisingly, good, really good. My dad got a new job so we're making progress."  
"That's really great, dude!"  
"Yeah. How are you?"  
"I'm doing fine. I'm excited for today, actually."  
"Why's that?"  
"Well..today's our grand opening and Barry asked me out on a lunch date."  
"A lunch date, huh?"  
"Yep."  
"Sounds fun."  
"Yeah..."  
They stand in silence.  
"So.."  
"So.."  
"Did you go to Comic-Con this year?"  
"Yeah, it was pretty cool."  
"How come, I didn't see you?" Iris wonders.  
"Well, I wasn't in the DC area, I was more in the Marvel area this year. I did check out The Flash panel though."  
"The trailer was awesome!"  
"Yeah, it was. I can't wait for the show to come back."  
"Me too."  
They stand in silence.  
"Well..I'm going to go use the bathroom, see you around?"  
"Yeah, nice talking to you, Iris."  
"You too, Cisco. See you around?"  
"You can count on it."

Iris hurries over to the bathroom. She wants to get her hair in an up-do so she can see where she's swimming. She decides to put her air in a loose bun. It really matches with what she's wearing. Her phone buzzes with a text from Linda.

"Where the hell are you?"  
"In the bathroom, why?"  
"I'm alone with Jesse."  
"Hang out with her, she seems to be kinda lonely. I'm doing my hair."  
"I actually need to do that to, I'm coming."

Linda walks in with her bikini on already, Iris hasn't removed her clothes. Linda comes in with loads of hairpins. "Can I borrow a hair pin?" Iris asks. Linda hands her one and Iris fixes her hair. "I need you to braid my hair," Linda says sitting on the bench. "What style?"

"Dutch braids."  
"Gotcha."

Halfway done with the last braid, Caitlin comes in. "Oh, there you guys are, Harrison wants out there. He's assigning our stations."

"We'll be there in a few minutes. Thanks, Cait," Iris says smiling at her friend.  
Caitlin nods her head and exits the building. Iris finishes with Linda's hair. Linda checks herself out then walks out of the bathroom. Iris takes off her clothes and puts them in the gym-bag. She then meets everyone outside.

"Okay, there you are. I was going to assign the stations without you. Okay, first team. Iris and Cisco at the kiddie pool. Barry and Linda at the slides. Jesse and Caitlin at the normal pool. Patty and Eddie at the water games."

Cisco looks at Iris who looks kind of glum not be teamed up with Barry. "Harrison?" he says hoping to grab his boss' attention. "Could I switch teams with Barry, please? I don't do that great with kids." Harrison raises an eyebrow and nods, "Okay, glad you told me that. Barry, you'll be with Iris at the kiddie pool."

"Cool," Barry says smirking. 

Iris looks over at Patty who's as red as a tomato. Iris flashes a playful wink at her and leaves with Barry to head to the kiddie pool. The kiddie pool is pretty shallow, only going up to 3 ft. Barry sits down at the edge letting his legs dip into the water. Iris does the same. 

They sit in silence for about 5 minutes before Barry decides to break the silence.

"Tell me about yourself, Iris."  
"Me?"  
"No shit, sherlock."  
Iris' face heats up, she's embarrassed.  
"I'm kidding! You should've seen your face."  
"Oh! Well..my name is Iris-"  
"Let me stop you right there. I'm going to ask my question again, ready?"  
Iris nods.  
"Tell me about yourself."  
"Well..I was born and raised in Central City. I have a brother named Wally. My mom's name is Francine West. And my father's name is Joe West."  
"The, Francine West."  
"Yeah, what about her?"  
"I've heard she's earned about 3 Pulitzer prizes."  
"Pfft. Yeah. Of course, my mom's the best writer in Central City. I want to be like her when she grows up."  
"Then what are you doing here?" Barry says looking Iris in the eyes.  
Iris looks away saying, "I needed the money."  
"May I ask why?"  
"No specific reason, pocket money," Iris says "How about you?"

"I don't think you'd like to hear mine. Might sound too sappy and sad."  
"Come on, how could a story like yours be so sad?" Iris says oblivious to Barry's childhood.  
Barry's silent.  
"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"  
"No, no. You're fine."  
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

They stop talking when a group of little kids walk over to the pool with their parents.  
"They're so cute!" Iris says thinking to herself.  
Barry and Iris keep a close watch on them, not wanting to lose their jobs. The kids are pretty great swimmers. A speaker crackles in the distance the speaker saying, "Adult Swim for 15 minutes, all kids out of the pool."

"That's our break," Barry says.  
"Yep."  
"You hungry?"  
"Nah, not really. I should probably find my friend."  
"Oh..okay. See you after break?"  
"Yeah, definitely." 

Iris heads over to the slides to find her friend. Iris can see Linda blowing her whistle ordering kids not to run. Iris giggles. Linda's one of the strict lifeguards. She makes her way over there getting a good view of the slides. They're huge. She imagines Barry and herself riding down on one of the rafts together, sharing laughs. She snaps out of it when Linda calls her over. "Hey, how was your shift with Barry?"

"It was nice. He's nice."  
"And?"  
"Well, he got all quiet when I joked about something relevant to family."  
"Oh, I forgot to tell you."  
"What?"  
"Barry's parents were killed during a bank robbery. He's been an orphan all his life."  
"I feel terrible now."  
"I'm sure you didn't mean it Iris. I think he cares enough to know."  
"I hope so.."  
"I think that's Harrison calling us," Linda says pointing to the locker rooms. Iris looks over and nods, "That's him, let's go see what he wants."

They head over to the group of people. "We're switching up locations, everyone stand by their partner."  
Barry grabs Iris' hand and pulls her closer to her. Iris' face heats up again.  
"Okay, Barry and Iris will be at the slides. Linda and Cisco to the normal pool. Jesse and Caitlin to the water games and Patty and Eddie to the kiddie pool. Every break we switch so remember where you're going, move out!" Harrison says.

He calls out that adult swim is over. Barry and Iris make their way over to the slides, hands still attached surprisingly. Patty watches them go seething. Barry can see it at the corner of his eye but doesn't pay attention, he just squeezes Iris' hand leading her to their station. "Who's watching the slides?" Iris asks.

"You can, I'll watch the pool where they land in," Barry says smiling.  
"We can switch halfway through our shift, if you want?"  
"Yeah, sure."  
"Okay, see ya."

Iris walks up the steps to the top of the slides. There's a line of kids and teens waiting to be allowed down the slide. Iris states the rules and lets one raft down each slide. Once halfway she lets the other wave of people. Tinier kids want to ride so Iris has to help them into their raft. Halfway through she starts heading down the stairs, telling everyone to wait. Barry's already climbing the stairs. They pass, them both exchanging smiles. Barry sends the riders down more quicker than expected. They make it out okay with no clogging. That's when Iris can hear Barry calling Iris' name. She looks up and spots him. He motions to her to get up here with him. She obliges and walks up the rows of steps. Barry has a raft in his with a smirk on his face. "Wanna go down?" Barry asks.

Iris looks at him, then the raft then at Harrison who is back at the locker rooms then back at him. "But what if-"

"He won't, trust me. Let's go. Barry sets the raft down on the slide and helps Iris on. They push off and go down the slide. Iris smiles, she can't believe she's doing this, with Barry. Barry has the same thought in his head. When the reach the pool, Barry dives in and resurfaces shaking his head water going everywhere. Iris stares at him in awe. "What?" he asks.

"N-nothing."  
"Okay..wanna go down the one man slide?"  
"What's that?"  
"It's the one that goes straight down and then comes horizontal when close to the pool."  
"That sounds terrifying."  
"Come on it's not that bad, I'll come with you if you're that scared."  
"You know what, I'm going to prove to you that I can do this, I'm not scared at all."

They reach the slide and Iris won't budge when it's her turn.  
"How are you feeling, Iris?"  
"Scared?"  
"It's not that bad, you can scream if you want."  
Iris sits down and puts her hands on her chest. "You can do this, Iris. It's just a slide, slides are fun, they're supposed to be fun!" She pushes herself down the slide. She starts off slow but then goes faster and faster, a little to fast for her comfort. She screams the whole way down, Barry right after her. He's laughing.

"I could hear your scream through the whole slide," he says still laughing.  
"Not funny, Barry. I could've died."  
"But you didn't."  
"True. I really think we should be doing our job now."  
"You're right."

They climb out of the pool and go back to their original stations. Harrison calls out break and adult swim. Barry offers to buy her something from the vending machine and Iris takes the offer. They both get Doritos and Gatorade and head over to the bench and eat. Everyone joins them. They talk about school and the latest news and gossip when Harrison calls out positions. They day finishes with a very successful first opening. Iris freshens up, taking a shower. Little did she know, Patty had stolen her belongings.

Iris grabs her towel and steps out of the shower. She goes to her gym bag to find her clothes aren't there. Her phone is nowhere to be seen. She looks almost everywhere in the locker room. She sits down on the bench and thinks who could've done this. The first person that comes to her mind is Patty. She decides to call Linda with the emergency phone that's in the locker room. "This is definitely an emergency," she says to herself while dialing in Linda's number.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up!"

"Hello? This is Linda Park, who's this?"  
"Linda. It's me..I really need your help right now."  
"Iris, what's wrong? Why don't you have your phone with you."  
"Patty. Patty stole my stuff. I don't know where she is, I'm supposed to be meeting Barry at CC Jitters. I'm stuck in the locker room with this towel on, please help me."  
"I'll be right there. I'll get clothes. I have a plan."

Linda arrives 10 minutes later. She finds Iris sitting on the bench shivering. Linda hands her the clothes and Iris changes in a stall. Iris goes up to hug Linda. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Lin."

"You wouldn't be able to do anything."  
"What's your so called plan, anyway?"  
"Well, we'll use my phone and say it's your father. He's like a cop, right? It'll scare her probably and we'll tell her to return your stuff to a certain address which'll be yours."  
"This is brilliant!"  
Linda hands Iris the phone and she starts typing.  
"Wait, why do you have Patty's phone number, does she know?"  
Linda nods her head no. Iris shrugs and starts typing.

"Hello. This is Joe West. Is this phone in the hands of my daughter, Iris West?"  
"No. This is Patty Spivot."  
"Young lady, may I ask why you have my daughter's phone?"  
"We're friends, I'm just using it."  
Linda snorts when she reads Patty's reply. Friends with who?  
"I'd like you to give her the phone please."  
"She's not with me right now."  
"Why are you using her phone then if she's not with you. Iris has said some bad things about you, I don't think she'd appreciate you using her phone."  
"Yes, sir."  
"I want you to return the phone to 661 Central Rd, in a matter of 20 minutes or I'll press charges."  
"Yes, sir."  
"Have a nice day, Spivot."  
"You too, sir."

Iris and Linda squeal with excitement. "It worked, it worked!" Linda says over and over again.  
"Let's head over to my house, follow me with your car?"  
"Sure."  
They get in their cars and drive back home. The gym-bag is right at the doorstep. Iris has a few minutes from Barry.

6:12: Hey I just made it to Jitters.  
6:14: I don't see you.  
6:20: Can you make it? We can reschedule.  
6:25 (Now): Iris?  
"Yeah, I'm right here. Sorry, got caught up in traffic. I'll be there in 10 minutes tops.  
"Oh, okay. I thought you ditched me for a second."  
Linda is reading the messages and can't help but 'aww' at the fact that Barry had said that he thought she ditched him for a second. Iris rolls her eyes and changes into something casual but chic for the occasion handing Linda back her clothes.

"I can't thank you enough for saving my ass back there. You're a live-saver."  
"Or, you might say, lifeguard," Linda says smiling.  
"Too cringey, try again next time," Iris says laughing then leaning in for a hug.  
"Good luck, honey! Don't stay too long!" Linda says waving Iris off winking at the last part.

Iris rolls her eyes and heads to Jitters. 

Barry's sitting at a table missing one person, Iris. He's looking around and then spots Iris. He smiles then waves. Iris smiles back and sits down across from him.  
"I thought you'd never come."  
"Well, here I am."  
Barry nods his head.  
They sit in silence.  
"So..what do you want to order."  
"Mmm..maybe some dark roast coffee with some brownies."  
"I'll get it for you," Barry says grinning.  
"What a gentleman," Iris says giggling.

Barry comes back with both of their orders. Iris is almost finished with her food when Barry says, "I think I'm in love with you, Iris."

She coughs on her brownie, making her hand into a fist and pounding on her chest. "Wait, I don't think I heard you right. What'd you say?"  
Barry chuckles and says, "I said, I think I'm in love with you, Iris. I think I've been in love with you since 6th grade."  
This has to be a dream, Iris thinks to herself. If so, she's going to live in the moment.  
"I think I'm in love with you too. I mean, I knew that for a long time now. Since 3rd grade I think."  
"Wow."  
Iris nods, looking away.  
Barry looks at his watch, "I think it's getting late. I'll drive you home?"  
"I brought my car.."  
"Don't worry about it, we can get it tomorrow."

They drive in silence to Iris' house, the only noise was Iris giving directions to her house. Barry walks her up to her door. "I've been waiting a long time to do this but..here goes."  
Barry leans in and kisses Iris on the lips. Iris is shocked, but then eases into the kiss, putting her hands around his neck while Barry gradually puts his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, letting her know that he's all hers. He breaks away and smiles at her. She blushes too flustered to even comprehend what just happened. He steps away, "I'll see you tomorrow, Iris?"

"Y-yeah."  
"Bye, Iris."  
"Bye, Barr."  
Barry smirks at the nickname, "Barr, I like it."  
Iris stays long enough to see his car disappear in the distance. 

She opens the door and to her surprise there's Wally standing at the entrance, arms crossed.  
"Iris kissed a boy," he says in a sing-song voice, "I'm telling Mom!"  
"You wouldn't dare!"  
"Watch me!" he says as he starts running to the office. Iris chasing after him. 

Maybe this summer wouldn't be that bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> This might of been short to you, I don't know but as you can tell from the title there will be a follow up. There will be a Patty and Barry's story but it'll be about their past. There'll be a Cisco and Caitlin story as well, so stay tuned for those. I might do like a follow up on Jesse's story if you want as well. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed, kudos and comments are most appreciated! See you later!
> 
> P.S. If you guys want, I'll do a follow up where Barry and Iris graduate high-school and they're a couple in college together. How's that sound?


End file.
